Oasis Church Bath

For lots of us, August is an interruption to our usual routine – whether that's because of work, school, hobbies, family, or our Oasis Summer Sundays. Amanda Higgin helps us to reflect on our return to the joyful ordinary, thinking and praying about where God is calling us to right now, and celebrating that we each have our own purpose and path in the world.

An interview with Karen O'Donnell. Karen is a lecturer and ‘trauma theologian’, and has recently released a book called ‘Survival: Radical Spiritual Practices for Trauma Survivors’. We talk to Karen about her helpful concept for trauma survivors of ‘remaking the self’ as opposed to ‘recovery’, and ask her about some of the spiritual practices she suggests in her book, many of which are unusual and...

We welcome Chrissie Chevasutt as our Sofa Sunday guest at Oasis Church Bath. Chrissie is employed by the United Reformed Church in Oxford as ‘Outreach and Development Worker with the Transgender, Intersex and Non-binary Community’ as well as being part of the team at Exeter college chapel. She has been a key support for LGBTQ young people in Oxford in recent years, pioneered the national Transgend...

At Oasis we’ve been honoured to be a small part of a new and emerging partnership project that provides access to Trauma Informed Yoga to people with experience of trauma, who might otherwise not be able to access it. Trauma informed Yoga teacher Anna Caldwell joins us on the sofa to explain what yoga is, how it links to our faith/spirituality, why it can be so impactful, and some tools and techni...

Reading, understanding and applying the bible is a practice that will always form an important part of who we are at Oasis Church Bath. Rather than zooming in at specific verses and passages like we often do, Amanda Higgin zooms out and reminds us of the big picture view of this fascinating library of stories, poems, letters and songs.

In our recently released Hub Plan, one of our hopes is to move from ‘safe spaces to brave spaces’. We also know that throughout the Christian story, God has asked people to be brave and do difficult things that have brought change and transformation. Jo Dolby will be unpacking a little more of what this means, and how we can know we’re safe as well as have the courage to step out and be brave when...

How should we understand giving in the light of both a reimagined faith and a cost-of-living crisis? Is the practice of tithing still something we should be doing and if not this, what? Nathan Jones, Senior Minister at Oasis Church Waterloo, offers his perspective on why giving is still such an essential part of our discipleship as Christians.

Many of us who have deconstructed an inherited faith or define ourselves as progressive Christians, cringe when we hear words like 'evangelism'. This word often evokes images of angry street preachers, pushy door knockers or emotionally manipulative events or 'gospel tracts'. That said, of course we want people to experience the goodness in our faith that we experience, we want to pass it on! Firs...

We were pleased to welcome our special guest Nik Jovčić-Sasto to the sofa at Oasis Church Bath. Nik is an Eastern Orthodox Christian, theologian, LGBTQ+ activist, musician, and drag performer. They joined us on the sofa for a conversation about their life and experiences, including a range of topics from music and activism, to mysticism and Midsomer Norton!

The first Sunday of Holy Week, when Christians around the world remember the last week of Jesus’ life. At Oasis, Amanda Higgin will be exploring with us how Christian faith has grown and developed around the symbol of the cross, and what it might mean for us to find life-giving faith through the event of a public and political execution.

Human beings are infinitely valuable partly because in each of us is reflected the image of an infinite God. This Sunday at Oasis Church Bath, Andy Salmon reflects on how this motivates how we interact with and care for each other, and inspires our core values concerning justice, inclusion, and Asset-Based Community Development.

Living a Christ-centred life is easier said than done! Gaynor will be reminding us that, throughout the Bible, God often has to remind his followers that justice and love are more important than elaborate feasts and festivals. We'll be reflecting on what God might want to say to us about this today, and how we decide what is most important in the way we choose to live.

We're delighted to be joined by Amy Peake for this months Sofa Sunday. Amy founded the charity project Loving Humanity in 2015 to provide dignity and agency to women and girls in slums and refugee camps by setting up micro-factories to produce sanitary products. Come along to hear her fascinating story and find out how love motivated Amy to start building factories in war zones.

It can be easy to be distracted by the hustle and bustle of expectations, religion, and debate, who thinks what, who does what, and what we should be seen to be doing. Stephen Natt will be exploring 'What does it mean, in the end, for everything we do to be 'Christ-centred'? Who is Jesus? How do we decide on our priorities, as individuals and as communities, when we're trying to be disciples of Je...

We are surrounded by messages telling us that we are powerful and capable of anything, usually coming from people who are trying to sell us something. It can be hard to remind ourselves that we aren't all-powerful – but we are loved by a Creator who is. Amanda will talk about how we can find joy and freedom in accepting the limitations of human nature, and how that might help us to love God, each...

As we think a bit more about our ‘Manifesto,’ what drives and motivates us, what excites us and brings us joy, we’ll be joined by representatives of the governance groups at Oasis Bath to share what it’s like to be part of the team running a church and hub which have grown in number and ambition over recent years, what they’ve learned so far as well as their hopes for the future.

Claire Thomas, Hub Leader at Oasis Hull, takes to the sofa to speak to us about her experience within politics, and why politics are an essential part of ordinary life. Claire was a councillor for the liberal democrats, and continues to engage on a political level in her current role.

We know a lot about the extraordinary years of Jesus’ ministry, but what about the 30 years of ordinariness before that? At Oasis Church Bath this Sunday, Amanda Higgin explores what we can learn through those mysterious unknown years, and what we can draw from that to apply to our own lives in the here and now.

We'll continue our Manifesto series with the second greatest commandment: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’. Rob Trickey will help us to think about what this means, especially in the context of Partnership Sunday, an annual opportunity where we take some time to reflect on who we are as a church community.

As we approach Christmas, Rob Trickey helps us reimagine the doctrine of the incarnation as well as its theological and practical implications. Did God really come to earth in human form as a baby boy? If so why, and what does it mean for us?

With our new speaking series, 'Manifesto,' what better way to start defining what we believe in than by paying attention to the priorities that Jesus set when he was asked what the most important commandment was? We'll begin our new series with the first and greatest commandment, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength'. Amanda Higgin will consider why this commandmen...

Some people you are born with, some people you choose, and some people you get stuck with! We live in communities that we have chosen and in communities that are given to us by circumstance, and we are called to love and to live well in both. What does a Christ-centred life look like in our street, family and workplace, compared to our church, clubs, and friendships? This Sunday at Oasis Church Ba...

Can ordinary people make a difference, or do you have to be in roles of power and prominence to make real, lasting change? What's the role of ordinary people in activism and change-making, and what could this look like in our everyday lives? We welcome guest speaker Ian Souter, who will share his thoughts on 'ordinary activism'. Ian is a retired Methodist minister who hasn't quite discovered how t...

A panel of guests sit on the sofa to share their experiences of not working, and how this impacts their experience of ordinary life.

Does God have a set and specific plan for each of us when it comes to our work? How do we choose our jobs and what kind of jobs should we be doing as followers of Jesus? The average adult will spend 3515 days of their life at work, so it’s really important we reflect both on the jobs we do and why we do them. Jo Dolby helps us explore these questions and considers whether there is a specific plan...